Plant for producing a metal band from a melt

ABSTRACT

A metal band producing plant in which there is provided rotating rolls for crystallizing molten metal into a band, with said rolls having a crystallizing zone which is limited by annular projections whose height is less than half the thickness of the crystallizing band and which zone is located at such a distance from the roll ends as to ensure a minimum relative deformation of the rolls in the crystallizing zone.

Sttes Barsultov et a1.

atent r191 PLANT FOR PRODUCING A METAL BAND FROM A MELT [76] Inventors:Vladimir Vasilievich Barsukov, ulitsa Bogatogo, 39/41, kv. 24; SavelyLeonidovich Burakov, Treugolny pereulok, 13, kv. 23; VladimirVissarionovich Grebennikov, ulitsa R.Ljuxemburg, 4, kv. 12; PetrGeorgievich Kalashnikov, ulitsa 25 Chapaevskoi divizii, 10, korpus 2,kv. 23; Miron Vasilievich Krasnov, doroga Kotovskogo, 191, kv. 5;Alexandr Yankelevich Kuperman, ulitsa Tomasa, 4, kv. 9; EvgenyEmelyanovich Miltotin, ulitsa Gaidara, 37, kv. l2; Evgeny GrigorievichNikolaenko, ulitsa Lastochkina, 9, kv. 6; Alexandr Nlkolaevich Stepanov,ulitsa Sverdlova, 97, kv. 68; Georgy Grigorievieh Tsarev, ulitsaBogatogo, 39, kv. 9; Grigory Abramovich Yarovinsky, Treugolny pereulok,13, kv. 14; Dolya losifovich Yassky, ulitsa Zaslavskogo, 5, kv.. 6, allof Odessa, USSR.

[22] Filed: Nov. 3, 1971 [2]] Appl. No.: 195,191

[30] 7 Foreign Application Priority Data May 19, 1971 U.S.S.R 1652352[52] US. Cl. 164/277, 164/283 M [51] int. Cl 322d 11/06 [58] Field ofSearch 164/87, 277

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 49,053 7/1865 Bessemer164/87 1,756,196 4/1930 Hopkins et al.... 164/87 1,903,897 4/1933 Harris164/277 2,962,777 12/1960 Harrison.... 164/87 X 3,120,037 2/1964Scribner 164/87 X 3,650,314 3/1972 Tarmann et al. 164/282 X FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 581,952 10/1924 France 164/87 PrimaryExaminer-R. Spencer Annear Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holman & Stern 5 7]ABSTRACT A metal band producing plant in which there is providedrotating rolls for crystallizing molten metal into a band, with saidrolls having a crystallizing zone which is limited by annularprojections whose height is less than half the thickness of thecrystallizing band and which zone is located at such a distance from theroll ends as to ensure a minimum relative deformation of the rolls inthe crystallizing zone.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SHEET 1 [1F 2 PLANT FOR PRODUCING A METALBAND FROM A MELT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to foundry equipment and more specifically to metal bandproducing plants.

The present invention is used most effectively for producing metal bandup to 3-4 mm thick from ironnickel-and copper-base alloys. The producedband can be cut for use in the form of separate sheets.

Besides, the invention can be utilized for producing metal band up to mmthick from alloys based on aluminium and iron.

PRIOR ART Widely known in the art is the metal band producing plantutilizing the method of continuous casting on rotating rolls forcrystallizing molten metal into a band, with surplus metal being freelydischarged at the roll ends.

In the known plant, the molten metal is poured into the interroll spaceformed by the closed rotating rolls cooled with water from the inside.The butt ends of the rolls are provided with built-in flanges. Rising toa certain level in the interroll space, the molten metal forms a wedge.Coming in contact with the roll surface, the molten metal in the wedgecools down and crystallizes. The crusts of solid metal formed on thesurface of the rolls are welded to each other and leave the rolls in theform of a band.

The disadvantages of the known plants are as follows. Crystallization ofmetal proceeds on the working zone of the rolls which is equal, ornearly equal, to the total length of the rolls.

Accordingly, formation of the edge portions of the band is seriouslyinfluenced by the solid flanges built into the roll ends. Said flangesimpair the cooling of the rolls at the end and interfere with theirexpansion in this zone when they are heated by the crystallizing metal.As a result, the rolls bulge out in the middle to a larger extent thanat the ends.

Experiments have shown that rolls 500 mm in diameter and 500 mm longwith walls 10-15 mm thick bulge out in the middle up to 1.5 mm. At thesame time, no bulging has been registered near the flanges.

Irregular deformation of the roll increases the clearance between theworking surfaces of the rolls at the end zones which reduces the contactbetween said rolls and the crystallizing metal. This impairs thestability of band formation and increases variations in the bandthickness which affects adversely the quality of the produced band.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention residesin eliminating the aforesaid disadvantages.

The main object of the invention is to provide a metal band producingplant which ensures stable forming and a uniform thickness of the band.

This object is accomplished by providing a metal band producing plantutilizing the method of continuous casting on rotating rolls forcrystallization of molten metal into a band with surplus metal freelydischarged at the roll ends wherein, according to the invention, therolls have a crystallizing zone which is limited by annular projectionswhose height is less than half the thickness of the crystallizing bandand which zone is located at such a distance from the roll ends as toensure a minimum relative deformation of the rolls in the crystallizingzone.

It is practicable that the crystallizing zone be located -250 mm fromthe roll ends.

Now the invention will be described in detail by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a general view inlongitudinal section and partly cut away of the plant according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view along arrow A in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing relative positions of the rotatingrolls and metal band according to the in vention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The metal band producing plantutilizing the method of continuous casting, according to the invention,com- .prises a frame 1 (FIG. 1) accommodating rolls 3 mounted inbearings 2 for crystallizing molten metal into a band, with said rollsbeing pressed against each other and rotating in opposite directions asshown in FIG. 1.

According to the invention, the rotating rolls 3 have a zone 5 (FIG. 2)on their outer surfaces 4, with said zone being provided for thecrystallization of molten metal and forming of a band 6 (FIG. 3). Thecrystallizing zone 5 is limited by annular projections 7 (FIG. 2)located on the outer surface 4 of the rolls 3 and is set at such adistance from butt ends 8 of the rolls 3 as to ensure a minimum relativedeformation of the rolls in the zone of their contact with the moltenmetal, i.e., in the crystallizing zone 5.

The most rational distance between the crystallizing zone 5 and the buttends 8 of the rolls 3 which ensures a minimum relative deformation ofrolls 3 in said zone is 150-250 mm.

In addition, this distance ensures stable deformation of thecrystallizing band 6 which in turn, ensures minimum variations of theband thickness. The height of the annular projections 7 is set to beless than half the thickness of the crystallizing band 6. On theseprojections 7 are crystallized edges 9 of the band 6, with said edgesbeing thinner than the main part of the band 6.

Due to the fact that the edges 9 of the band 6 are thinner and,correspondingly, have a lower temperature of crystallization, theirstrength within this temperature range is higher than that of the mainband which rules out the destruction of the band edges as the bandleaves the rolls.

The rolls 3 are pressed together by a hydraulic piston cylinder 10 (FIG.I) through housings ll of the bearings 2 which can slide over the guideslocated on the frame 1.

The rolls 3 are rotated by a drive 13 via a cardan shaft 14 (FIG. 2)connected with journals 15 secured on the butt ends 8 of the rolls 3.

The surplus metal 16 (FIG. 3) is freely discharged through means 23located in the butt ends of the rolls 3; then, it is accumulated andremoved by conduits 17 (FIG. 1) installed under the butt ends 8 of therolls 3 on trolleys 18 which have a travelling motion drive (not shownin the drawings).

Any droplets of metal stuck to the outer surfaces 4 of the rolls 3 canbe cleaned off by wire brushes l9 mounted on the frame 1 and providedwith an individual rotation drive 20 (FIG. 2).

In order to remove the heat at the process of crystallization of metalinto the band 6, the rolls 3 are cooled with water flowing into and outof the rolls 3 through holes 21 (FIG. 1) which are located in thejournals of the rolls 3.

The metal band producing plant covered by the present invention operatesas follows:

The drive 13 for rotation of the crystallizing rolls 3 is turned onafter which the rolls 3 are pressed together by the hydraulicpiston-cylinder unit 10. The molten metal is poured from a ladle orfurnace (not shown in the drawings) into the receiving-and-distributingdevice (not shown in the drawings) from which it is fed onto the rolls3, forming a wedge-shaped bath of liquid metal in the gap between theouter surfaces 4 of the rolls 3.

Coming in contact with the rolls 3, the molten metal cools down andstarts crystallizing in the layers immediately adjoining the rollsurfaces 4. The rotating rolls carry the crystallizing layers of metalinto the roll closing zone where these layers acted upon by the pressingforce are welded into a continuous band 6 which leaves the rolls 3 andenters a band stripper 22.

The amount of molten metal fed onto the rolls 3 is somewhat larger thanrequired in order to carry away any scabs, nonmetallic inclusions, etc.accumulating on the surface of the metal bath. The surplus metal 1 isdischarged at the butt ends of the rolls through drainage grooves andaccumulated in the conduits 17.

When the band 6 is formed on the surfaces 4 of the rolls 3, the moltenmetal crystallizes in that zone of the rolls whose deformation isrelatively uniform throughout its length. This provides for a constantcontact between the crystallizing metal and the roll surfaces andstabilizes the process of band formation.

The formed band 6 with narrow thin strips at the edges 9 formed on theprojections 7 moves undamaged into the band stripper 22 and thence it iscarried for winding into a coil. The band thus formed can be used laterfor making metal sheets.

Formation of metal band in the plant according to the invention ensuresstable production of cast metal bands and, if necessary, sheets with asatisfactory surface and uniform thickness.

What is claimed is:

l. A plant for producing a metal band utilizing the continuous castingmethod and comprising: internally cooled rotatable rolls forcrystallizing molten metal into a band; means for feeding molten metalbetween the rolls; a drive for rotating said rolls; said rolls beingprovided with axially spaced annular projections, the height of theprojections being less than half the thickness of the crystallizing bandand which projections limit the crystallizing zone, said zone beinglocated at such a distance from the roll ends as to ensure a minimumrelative deformation of said rolls in the crystallizing zone; and thesurplus metal being freely discharged at the ends of the rolls.

2. The plant as of claim 1 wherein the crystallizing zone is locatedl00250 mm from the roll ends.

1. A plant for producing a metal band utilizing the continuous castingmethod and comprising: internally cooled rotatable rolls forcrystallizing molten metal into a band; means for feeding molten metalbetween the rolls; a drive for rotating said rolls; said rolls beingprovided with axially spaced annular projections, the height of theprojections being less than half the thickness of the crystallizing bandand which projections limit the crystallizing zone, said zone beinglocated at such a distance from the roll ends as to ensure a minimumrelative deformation of said rolls in the crystallizing zone; and thesurplus metal being freely discharged at the ends of the rolls.
 2. Theplant as of claim 1 wherein the crystallizing zone is located 100-250 mmfrom the roll ends.